Pub Quiz #4

This picture is not from the place where we go for our pub quiz but it's one of the locals in my area. The Old Wheatsheaf also have a pub quiz on Thursdays and their jackpot is a mouth watering $500, but we go to the quiz at The Hemingford Arms in Islington. Tonight we got 23 points; the winners got 36. It wasn't our best result but a whole lot better than last week when I missed it due to my first night shift. I recruited another new member (also a McGill grad). Here are some of the questions from tonight's quiz:

a) How many points are there on the maple leaf on the Canadian flag (not including the stalk/stem)?
b) In what geological period did coal beds form?
c) Name two of the three longest bridges in Britain.
d) What instrument is the theme music in the TV programme QI played on?
e) Before the Euro was introduced, what was the name of the Portuguese currency? (question slightly modified)
f) What animal comprises 2 names where the 1st name describes the substance it interacts with, & is used to plough paddy fields?
g) Name the five elements made up of four letters.
h) What is the official name of the Old Bailey?

New Books & Your Recommendations

a) Underground London: Travels Beneath The City Streets by Stephen Smith
b) Victorian London: The Life of a City 1840-1870 by Liza Picard
c) Brief Lives of the English Monarchs: From William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II by Carolly Erickson

The Underground London book has been a massive disappointment. Nevertheless there are a few hidden gems interspersed between chapters of unnecessary nonsense. These gems, including remnants of the Roman basilica in a Central London hair salon's basement will need to be checked out ASAP. There are also remains of the Roman Fort (AD 70) in an underground carpark next to my workplace.

The Victorian London book is a semi-sequel to Picard's earlier work, Elizabeth's London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London. I bought the prequel a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Picard writes London's history from a rare social perspective. I've only read the first chapter to her Victorian compilation and it already looks promising.

I bought the monarchy book to act as an A-to-Z companion for the rest of my life. I've been reading at least one chapter (each one dedicated to a different monarch) every other day. I hope to have the entire English monarchy down by the year's end.

My question to you is simple: what works of (somewhat unknown but) good fiction do you recommend me to buy this weekend?